Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 64,876 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments purchased 64,876 Ciena shares in the third quarter, worth approximately $22.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.99% of Ciena’s stock.
• Ciena reported quarterly EPS of $2.11, exceeding the $1.73 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $1.67 billion and increased 37% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $485.93, although several firms recently lowered their targets and insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 64,876 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,825,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 6.6% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 30,890 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Ciena by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,254 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $918,000. Kassira Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $284.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.41, a PEG ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $361.07 and a 200 day moving average of $402.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.80. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $168.22 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Marc Graff sold 4,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total transaction of $2,151,446.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 107,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,310,583.68. This represents a 4.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.18, for a total transaction of $974,691.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,284,802.68. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,062 shares of company stock worth $12,336,372. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Ciena from $538.43 to $406.81 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Ciena in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $485.93.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.

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